Ladybugs

Just in time for Elise's first birthday party the skies turned blue and the sun came out.  We were able to celebrate a very special day with our family and friends and the guest of honor of course!  We had such an amazing day.  Elise was a trooper and truly enjoyed her party day like a seasoned pro.

I spent a month prepping for the party but still had to wait until the last minute to do so much because we didn't know if we were going to have to move everything inside.  Elise played with her grandpa while we were decorating and even squeezed in a nap before the festivities.  I was really nervous that she wouldn't go down at all and be a crabby birthday girl.

I made all of the decorations myself and had a great time using my new favorite tool: the Silhouette.  

I figured that since I love doing things like this it was the perfect time to ask Brian to get it for me.  With Elise being our first child, thus this being our first birthday party I would get a lot of use out of it, and I already have!  

The color of the walls don't really "go" but hey, its what we had.

The string of pictures are her "Picky Sticky" pictures that we took each month.  I figured we worked so hard making sure we captured each of her "month birthdays" it was a great way to show everyone how she spent her first year.  It was also adorable to see just how much she changed from month to month.  Mama might have cried putting this together.

One of the smartest things that we did for her party was order food.  We didn't do anything fancy but we ordered El Pollo Loco and it was fantastic!  Normally I would make all of the appetizers, meal and desserts but as Brian said, there is no reason to be a hero.  Get some help.  And the help made amazing chicken!  And I can't believe how many people really LOVE EPL!  Thank goodness!

As far as appetizers I went very simple... we had a veggie tray and my mom and I made these cute ladybug snacks.  They were simple but delicious.  The only suggestion I have is to try not to make them too far in advance because they tend to get a little soggy.  We used Ritz crackers with onion & chive cream cheese.  Then topped with an olive and a cherry tomato.  Yum! And so cute.

The dessert table is what I wanted to have as the  main focal point of the room/party.  I think it turned out pretty well for my first one.  I didn't get a close up of the cupcakes but I am waiting on some pictures that our friend took (she only took about 900 so I am sure there is one or two cute ones in there).  The dessert table also had my first attempt at Royal Icing!  I made these ladybug cookies and my mom and I spent hours elbow deep in red icing and had a great time making these little ladies come to life.

Her "Smash Cake" was an adorable ladybug cake that she LOVED!

She looks so serious, but I promise she was laughing and smiling the whole time.

 

For the favors I put together fun little boxes with a bug catching set, ladybug bubblegum, ladybug bubbles, a magnifying glass, a ladybug paddle ball and some fun candy.  The girls also got a ladybug hair clip that I made (just like the one Elise was wearing).  I didn't get a picture with everything together, but again I am hoping someone did.

We bought the live ladybugs to put in the garden for the kids to catch with their bug catching sets. They were all so precious and delicate with the bugs and made sure to give them lots of food and leaves. Something that made everyone laugh is one of my nephews (6 years old) decided that there was "Bug Food" for them....

If you look closely on the dessert table I had a jar labeled "Bug Food" that was actually Cheerios (Elise's favorite food) just in case she wanted a snack that wasn't all sugar... well she didn't eat a single piece, but the real ladybugs did.  Good job Brandon!

So in all, everything turned out great. We had a very special day with Elise and her family and friends. The weather cooperated and we had a fantastic First Birthday.

Sunday it rained all day and the backyard flooded. We lucked out!